But the 5-foot-3 fighter told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) he’s willing to compete in three different weight classes if need be.

“I still consider myself to be a flyweight because I want to make sure I can fight in both weight classes,” Dodson, who competed on Saturday’s Spike TV-televised main card at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, told MMAjunkie.com. “I’d want to be a flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight if I could.”

While the UFC plans to add a 125-pound flyweight division in the near future, many of the division’s top prospects decided to pack on some pounds to compete on “TUF 14,” which was the UFC’s first season to feature 135-pounders and 145-pounders. Since a date for the UFC’s new weight class hasn’t been set, fighters such as Dodson figure the tradeoff is worth the reward.

“I’m one of the only flyweights that has come this far to make it all the way through ‘The Ultimate Fighter,'” he said. “There were four of us that originally started, and one of us was the one who came out on top.”

What many fans may not realize is that Dodson, a Team Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter, actually made his pro debut way back in 2004. The former high-school state wrestling champion has fought 17 times since then. Yet, he knows he still has a long way to go, especially now that his new six-figure UFC contract provides some job security and assures he’ll consistently fight the best lighter-weight athletes in the world.

“I still have a long way to go,” he said. “Everyone can sit there and say, ‘I’m ready for [a title shot]. I’m prepared.’ But I still want to work through it and fight as many times as I can and just take whatever opportunities the UFC gives me. I’m more than willing to fight anybody at any point in time. If Dana White wants to put me on the New Year’s Eve card, I’m willing to fight on that one too.

Dodson fought four times in the 16-man tournament, and three of his wins came via knockout. The latest, though, is easily the most controversial. While Dodson floored Dillashaw with a counter left hand and briefly followed him to the mat, the referee Herb Dean waved off the fight as the Team Alpha Male fighter briefly protested.

“When I hit him, I felt like I hit him with an open palm,” Dodson said. “I thought I bitch-slapped him. Sorry. I (mean I) felt like I slapped him, and I didn’t know if I actually hit him with any real power until I saw him crumble. When I saw him hit the ground, I just tried to jump on it as fast as I could.”

After the fight, a disappointed Dillashaw didn’t curb from his complaints.

“I just wish I could have got to show what I actually can do and let the fight go on,” he said. “Some of the best fights we’ve seen in the UFC – Frankie Edgar, he gets a chance to fight through it. I’m in good shape. I can push through those things. Obviously, I was coming into a single leg, and they stopped the fight a little early in my opinion.

“I didn’t agree with the stoppage, but what are you going to do? You can’t argue your way out of it.”

While Dodson was clearly the reality show’s easiest-going fighter, and though he smiled even as he addressed those complaints, he didn’t necessarily agree with Dillashaw’s assessment.

Besides, his job is to fight, not to debate merits of stoppages.

“If he wanted to keep on going, I was more than willing to keep throwing,” Dodson said. “It wasn’t stopped early. It’s [the referee’s] job. It’s not my job.”

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